Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby Flood Relief
Donation protected
EDIT 16/6 - we also have a tax deductible donation option available now: https://asf.org.au/projects/gippsland-ranges-roller-derby/
To the community of Gippsland and our broader roller derby family: We need your help!
After 10 years of blood, sweat and tears, in February 2020 we unveiled the newly refurbished and purposely re-designed Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby training shed - finally a space to come together to skate and laugh and be a family. Located within the Traralgon Showgrounds, the previously dubbed “Sheep Shed” was lined with chicken cages, possum poo and remnants from its former life as a roller-skating rink.
With the support of the Traralgon and Districts Agricultural Society, council and government grants, community and business partners and numerous fundraisers the shed was lovingly and painstakingly renovated into a purpose-built space, to house the Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby club. We've grown from 15 members into a club that welcomes everyone, offering Skate Fit classes and Roller Derby League Training, reaching membership of over 60 active skaters.
COVID-19 may have put a stop to training in 2020, but it didn't stop the drive to come back strong in 2021. With League sessions and Skate Fit back in full swing for the last few months we have been committed to training and getting back into competition yet again.
The floods that swept through Traralgon Creek on the 9-11th of June devastated our little club, bringing heavy floodwaters with sludge and sewerage contamination right through the shed, inundating the track, hire equipment, kids play area and all that we had built. Our beautiful new padding has already had to be removed and binned and an assessment of our walls is likely to say the same. We are heartbroken to see all that work and money go to waste.
We can and will rebuild. In the meantime we need to be able to stay together, to support each other and to train and grow our club to achieve the goals we are so determined to achieve, both personally and as a team.
We have a strong history of community activation, speaking out loud and proud and being successful with campaigns such as Cancer screening awareness, LGBTQIA+ equality advocacy, Australia's first Roller Derby Pride Cup and Gippsland Pride Gala.
Our club is run and managed by amazing volunteers and now we are reaching out for help. We hope we are insured sufficiently but it will take time to process and rebuild and there will be gaps. In the meantime we are very eager to keep training - for our mental as well as our physical health.
To maintain the momentum we've gathered we'll need your support to continue pushing ourselves to be all that we can as a sporting group and as a valuable community group. We haven’t forgotten our roots and those who assisted us when we needed it and we would like to be able to reach out and offer assistance to our neighbours, The Traralgon and Districts Agricultural Society, so they can also move forward stronger following the devastation of these floods.
Please help us continue to engage in a sport and a community that is truly like no other, that brings people together from all backgrounds and celebrates diversity. Help us show you our strengths on and off the track by supporting us to continue to skate and train and rebuild our beloved shed.
To the community of Gippsland and our broader roller derby family: We need your help!
After 10 years of blood, sweat and tears, in February 2020 we unveiled the newly refurbished and purposely re-designed Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby training shed - finally a space to come together to skate and laugh and be a family. Located within the Traralgon Showgrounds, the previously dubbed “Sheep Shed” was lined with chicken cages, possum poo and remnants from its former life as a roller-skating rink.
With the support of the Traralgon and Districts Agricultural Society, council and government grants, community and business partners and numerous fundraisers the shed was lovingly and painstakingly renovated into a purpose-built space, to house the Gippsland Ranges Roller Derby club. We've grown from 15 members into a club that welcomes everyone, offering Skate Fit classes and Roller Derby League Training, reaching membership of over 60 active skaters.
COVID-19 may have put a stop to training in 2020, but it didn't stop the drive to come back strong in 2021. With League sessions and Skate Fit back in full swing for the last few months we have been committed to training and getting back into competition yet again.
The floods that swept through Traralgon Creek on the 9-11th of June devastated our little club, bringing heavy floodwaters with sludge and sewerage contamination right through the shed, inundating the track, hire equipment, kids play area and all that we had built. Our beautiful new padding has already had to be removed and binned and an assessment of our walls is likely to say the same. We are heartbroken to see all that work and money go to waste.
We can and will rebuild. In the meantime we need to be able to stay together, to support each other and to train and grow our club to achieve the goals we are so determined to achieve, both personally and as a team.
We have a strong history of community activation, speaking out loud and proud and being successful with campaigns such as Cancer screening awareness, LGBTQIA+ equality advocacy, Australia's first Roller Derby Pride Cup and Gippsland Pride Gala.
Our club is run and managed by amazing volunteers and now we are reaching out for help. We hope we are insured sufficiently but it will take time to process and rebuild and there will be gaps. In the meantime we are very eager to keep training - for our mental as well as our physical health.
To maintain the momentum we've gathered we'll need your support to continue pushing ourselves to be all that we can as a sporting group and as a valuable community group. We haven’t forgotten our roots and those who assisted us when we needed it and we would like to be able to reach out and offer assistance to our neighbours, The Traralgon and Districts Agricultural Society, so they can also move forward stronger following the devastation of these floods.
Please help us continue to engage in a sport and a community that is truly like no other, that brings people together from all backgrounds and celebrates diversity. Help us show you our strengths on and off the track by supporting us to continue to skate and train and rebuild our beloved shed.
Fundraising team (2)
Dani Ainsworth
Organizer
Koornalla, VIC
Kathryn Evers
Beneficiary
Jessica Reeves
Team member